Commonwealth Bank Essentials Credit Card

Pauline Hatch

Pauline is a personal finance expert at CreditCard.com.au, with 8 years in money, budgeting and property reporting under her belt. Ask Pauline a Question about this card.

The Commonwealth Bank Essentials Credit Card

Back in March 2018, CommBank scrapped three of its cards – the Student credit card, Gold Awards credit card and Business Gold Awards credit card – and introduced the Commonwealth Bank Essentials Credit Card. In this act of “streamlining”, CommBank created its lowest rate card, designed to offer cardholders more control. So, is it right for you?

What we love...

As its name suggests, the Commonwealth Bank Essentials Credit Card is a card that just offers the essentials. So, there’s no need to get your head around fancy features, and no convoluted rewards programs that you pay for but never use. This is a card that offers you the basics, the essentials, and not much else. But, that is why we like it.

With this card, you have a low rate of interest on purchases. So, if you occasionally carry a balance, you will pay less in interest while you work on paying off what you owe. And as cash advances are blocked, there should be no temptation to withdraw money on the card, to then pay higher rates of interest and cash advance fees, as is often the case with other credit cards.

In terms of fees, the Commonwealth Bank Essentials Credit Card could help you save here too. With no annual fee as such, the card charges a monthly fee instead. With a standard monthly fee of $5, you can reduce that to $2 per month by choosing online statements and setting up automatic repayments from a CommBank transaction account using AutoPay.

Instead of paying $60 per year, you could pay as little as $24. Which is great. But, something that cardholders should consider is how much they set up that automatic payment for. Setting up a payment that only covers your minimum repayment amount could mean carrying a balance, failing to clear that balance, and paying too much in interest over a longer period of time.

What’s not so great...

As a card that only offer the basics, there are plenty of features missing from the Commonwealth Bank Essentials Credit Card that. There are no balance transfers, you can’t earn rewards, and you can’t take advantage of features such as overseas travel insurance. If you want these extras, you may be better off choosing another card – and paying for them with higher annual fees and interest.

Why should you choose this card?

With one of the lowest rates on the market, the Commonwealth Bank Essentials Credit Card could be a great option if you tend to carry a balance. With its low rate, you could save on interest while you work on paying down what you owe. Once you clear your balance – and continue to do so month-to-month – you can take advantage of up to 55 days interest free on purchases.

CommBank also promotes this card as one that can help you stay in control. One way it does this is with its low maximum credit limit of $3,000. The thinking behind this is, if you don’t have the temptation to spend up to a high credit limit, you are less likely to overspend. Will it work? That all depends on you.

Luckily, CommBank’s tools are here to help. A Spending Cap allows you to set a cap on your spending, which can help prevent you from going over your set spending limit. However, access to your additional funds are still available should you need it. You can also access Spending Tracker & Insights, which may help you better understand where your money is going.

Other nice features on the card include access to Priceless Cities offers and experiences, and CommBank’s ‘Lock, Block, Limit’, which allows you to instantly lock, block or limit your card through CommBank’s app or NetBank. In terms of security, 24-hour fraud protection and emergency overseas assistance is available, through Mastercard Zero Liability and Mastercard Global Service.

Overall Rating

Keeping it nice and simple, the Commonwealth Bank Essentials Credit Card offers a low rate on purchases, alongside a range of ways cardholders can stay in control, including a low maximum credit limit, self-set spending caps, and spending tracking tools.